The present invention relates to a mail flow compensating device.
Mail sorting machines are known wherein a flow forming device provides for forming a stream of overlapping mail items (letters and postcards), which is fed by a conveyor belt to a user, e.g. separating, device.
Under stationary operating conditions, the output of the flow forming device substantially equals the input of the separating device, so that the stream of mail items is substantially orderly.
When the number of mail items fed to the output of the flow forming device, however, is greater than that withdrawn by the separating device, the mail items are subjected to forces affecting the initial arrangement. More specifically, the bottom portion of the mail items moves at substantially the same speed as the conveyor belt, whereas the items themselves are subjected to the reaction exerted by the items accumulating at the input of the separating device.
As a result, each mail items rotates about its bottom edge, and is lifted off the surface of the belt and on to the foregoing item closer to the separating device, so that the height of the stream gradually increases to such a point as to result in fallout of the mail items.